China warns US, slams Dalai Lama for ‘lies’

New Delhi, March 21 (IANS) On a day Tibetan protesters slipped into the Chinese embassy premises and the Dalai Lama arrived for a week’s stay, China urged India not to be misled by the “lies” of the Tibetan leader and warned against any international “meddling” in its “internal affairs”. “We oppose any country, any organisation, any person interfering in China’s internal affairs. We have stated clearly that Tibet is China’s internal affair,” Chinese ambassador Zhang Yan told reporters Friday.

Expressing disapproval of US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi meeting the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh, where she asked all freedom loving people to speak out against China’s “oppression” in Tibet, the envoy said: “We don’t allow anybody to meddle in China’s internal affairs. Any attempt to cause trouble to China is doomed to fail.”

The Tibetan spiritual head arrived in the Indian capital from Dharamsala, the seat of the Tibetan government-in-exile, Friday around 7.30 p.m. He will stay in New Delhi for a week to give discourses on Buddhist philosophy.

The envoy’s comments came even as many Tibetan protesters Friday slipped into the Chinese embassy premises in Chanakyapuri to protest the Chinese security forces’ reported crackdown on Tibetan protesters in Lhasa.

The protestors scaled the compound walls of the Chinese embassy located in the high-security diplomatic area. Several protesters were later detained by the police.

The Chinese envoy said that no country, organisation or person should “take any irresponsible step or say irresponsible words” on happenings in Tibet.

However, he was cautious in his comments on India’s position on the unrest in Lhasa and thanked New Delhi profusely for ensuring the security of the Chinese embassy, consulates and staff.

The Dalai Lama, who has been living in exile in Dharamsala since 1959, will meet Vice-President Hamid Ansari. This was revealed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who stressed that India has always recognized the Tibetan Autonomous Region as part of China.

“India’s one-China policy remains unchanged. There is no review of that,” Mukherjee said.

Chinese envoy Zhang, asked for his view on the Dalai Lama as a religious leader and an icon of non-violence, said: “That’s his (Dalai Lama’s) claim. He is a political figure. He used non-violence to cheat the international community and win so-called support of the people who blindly follow him”.

“I hope our Indian friends can see through the nature of his intentions and are not misled by him. We urge them to take a correct stand on the incident in Tibet and judge the Dalai Lama by his deeds rather than words,” the Chinese envoy told reporters.

“We attach importance to deeds and not words,” the Chinese envoy stressed.

Urging the Indian media to take a correct stand on what he called the “incident” in Tibet last week, the Chinese envoy screened a documentary of the Chinese Central TV to claim that the Dalai Lama and his followers were behind the Lhasa violence last week.

India has crucial stakes in Tibet, which borders its territory, as it is in some sense crucial to the ongoing attempts at resolving its border dispute with China. Beijing claims the Tawang monastery, situated in Arunachal Pradesh, to be part of Tibet, and, therefore, part of its territory.

India has recognized the Tibetan Autonomous Region to be part of China, but has rejected China’s claim on the northeastern state Arunachal Pradesh. The two countries are engaged in talks to resolve the long-standing border issue.